May the Force Be With Your Lunch Box

I can imagine some lucky little Star Wars fans carrying these light saber chopsticks in their school lunch box.



One of my favorite blogs, Tokyomango, reports, "Starting in November, you'll be able to buy these Star Wars light saber chopsticks in Darth Vader Red, Luke Skywalker Blue, or Yoda Green".

Buy My Lunch Boxes!

Whew, I just spent most of the afternoon photographing and listing eight of my lunch boxes on ebay. It's time to start thinking about what lunch container you're going to use for back-to-school!

Most of these lunch boxes were used to take photographs for my cookbooks -- one is even the cover model for my first book! Some of these were only used once or twice, so they're in perfect condition.

Most are plastic and bento-style lunch boxes, but one is stainless steel and one is a really cool insulated food carrier with four inner containers, like a "Mr. Bento".

Oh, and one set is an accessory bundle: the purple Gel-Cool lunch container was small, so I bundled it with lots of lunch box accessories. They're all small and cute, perfect for a preschool or kindergartner: little forks, little dip and candy containers, pretty food picks, and a hand-sewn napkin.

Don't worry, I still have plenty of lunch boxes left! LOL

Crafty? Make Your Own!

If you looked at the
reusable sammy baggies in my recent post and thought, "Hey, I could do that!", you'll want to check out these instructions on How To Make a Reusable Sandwich Wrap.

According to the website, these "fun, functional sandwich wraps give you a reusable alternative to plastic baggies, plus they are a snap to make. After each use, they can be wiped clean with a damp cloth or tossed in with the rest of the laundry."

I don't know about a snap (I routinely sew my sleeves together trying to make a napkin), but they sure are cute!

Thanks, Angie!

No Excuse for Plastic Baggies

We've been served! As of today there is no excuse for using disposable plastic baggies anymore, because there are now at least a gazillion reusable alternatives.

The latest one sent in to me are these clear Fresh Snack Packs. As the site says, they are "PVC-free EVA plastic, phthalate free, BPA free, and lead free". They come in sandwich and snack size, and I like the way they double-wrap; I imagine that helps keep things well-sealed and fresh.

What other baggie options do we have? Let's see, there's...

Dajo Bags

Lunch Skins

Snack Taxis

and Wrap-N-Mats.

I'm sure there are even more reusable baggies that I don't know about yet. If you know of one, tell us about it in the comments.

Two Cute Lunch Kits

Wow, it seems like exciting new lunch-gear is just springing up left and right! I'm having a hard time keeping up with all the fun lunch items I want to share with you all. Here are two more:

1. Etsy craftswoman Becky Striepe recently sent in this email:

"Hi Jennifer!

I've been a big fan of yours for quite a while. You're basically the reason I got interested in bento, so it would be a total honor if you mentioned my Lunch Kits on your blog. Each one comes with: a handmade bag, 5 napkins, a stainless steel lunchbox and a pair of bamboo chopsticks or eclectic utensils.

"I'm also a vegan and love cooking! Your Magical Loaf Studio is one of my go-tos when we need an easy, tasty dinner. It hasn't failed me yet!"

Oh, thank you so much, Becky! Your handmade bags are super-adorable!

2. A blog commenters recently pointed me towards Kids Konserve, a new company focusing on waste-free lunches for kids.

There's so much to like here! Their Lunch Kits come with a recycled canvas sack with recycled aluminum name tag, an organic cloth napkin, stainless steel beverage bottle with a carabiner, a BPA-free "food kozy" that replaces disposable baggies, and two stainless steel food containers with BPA-free plastic lids. Eco-impeccable!

There is one thing I don't like, though, particularly since this kit is geared toward school kids, who usually don't have access to a refrigerator: I wish that the lunch sacks were insulated and came with an ice pack and a built-in ice pack pocket, to keep foods safe until lunch time.

Also, although I think stainless steel is the best choice environmentally, I wonder about sending kids to school with it. Watching my own son swing and drag his backpack around makes me fear these containers will wind up dented in a matter of weeks. And do schools have issues with stainless steel, particularly those with security? Thoughts?

USB-powered lunchbox warmer

I came across this today at the blog Tokyo Mango: a "USB-powered lunchbox warmer from Thanko [that] will keep your meal at a constant 60 degrees Celsius until you're ready to eat it."

Once again, I am delighted and awed by Japan's bento brilliance. No need to use a microwave or even get out of your chair. Just plug your lunch in to your computer when you get to work, and it's there, hot-n-ready, at lunchtime!

How cool is that? And, more importantly, when is it coming to America? Here's the Thanko product page, all in Japanese, unfortunately.

Smart Bacon Sandwich

Shmoo picked and packed his own lunch again today. My little boy is growing up! He even went with me to the store and hand-picked the Brussels sprouts, so today this was all him.

First, he fried some Smart Bacon and made a BL without the T (he still doesn't care much for fresh tomatoes, but lettuce is now okay). We packed it in a Lunch Skin from 3greenmoms. These washable bags are made to take the place of disposable bags in the lunch box. Shmoo complained that the pattern was "too girly", but it's the only one they sell right now.

Next, I helped him cook some Brussels sprouts and pack them in a little Gel-Cool Bento Box. (Brussels sprouts are still his favorite vegetable.)

Finally, although he thought that was enough, I insisted on some fresh fruit, so he added two darlin' clementines for dessert.

Here's the Lunch Skin folded up and ready to go. Look, it even has a place to write your name -- handy when you have a kind who tends to misplace things at school.

Verdict: He ate it all up and (what a relief!) remembered to bring the bag home. The bag was easy to turn inside-out and wash; now it's hanging on my plastic bag drier, waiting to be used again. 4 stars.

Lunch Box Survey

Check out this fabulous lunch box survey form (pdf) from FamilyFun that you can print out and include in your child's lunch box. What a clever idea!



My favorite part:

"On a scale of 1-5 how tasty was your lunch today? (check one)

5 - Awesome!

4 - pretty GROOVY

3 - just OK

2 - I ate it anyway

1 - 'HERE FIDO...' "

HA! I think "I traded it for _________ " should be one of the options.

My son would hate the absolute utter cuteness of this form, but I bet there are kids out there who would love it. If anyone gives it a try, let us know how you rate!

Thanks, Chelee, for the link!

Bicycle Frame Lunch Bag

Check out these instructions from Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories ("Making the World a Better Place, One Evil Mad Scientist at a Time") on how to make your very own bicycle frame lunch bag.

I wonder if you could adjust the pattern dimensions to fit a Laptop Lunch System?

Apple Cozy Pattern

Sorry I'm a bit late with this one, but my medium apple cozy was at the county fair this week (blue ribbon, baby!) and I wanted to wait until it came home so I could include it in the picture.



Here is the Apple Cozy Pattern (with pear variation) to go with the Banana Cozy and Orange Cozy patterns I already posted. Knit up a whole fruit bowl!

You'll notice I wrote up this pattern in three sizes: small for those wee two-bite apples that are just right for the preschool set, medium for your average apple eater, and large for the biggest of apples or Asian Pears.

Knit on!

Orange Cozy Pattern

Hey, knitters! As promised in my recent fruit cozy post, I have been hard at work with needles and yarn and have devised an Orange Cozy Pattern for your knitting and lunch-packing pleasure.

This will go nicely in your lunch bag next to the Banana Cozy you may already have knitted up. Get busy, because next week I hope to have a new apple/pear pattern for you, too.

Go Team Yarn!

Fruit Cozies

When Hobbies Collide! I love to knit, and I love to pack lunches, so what could be better than knitting things for packed lunches?

This summer I've been knitting fruit cozies: cotton jackets made to keep fruit from getting bruised in a lunch bag or purse. So far I've made (clockwise from bottom left) an orange cozy, a banana cozy, two apple cozies, and a pear.

If any of you knitters are wondering how it's done, I got the original Apple Sweater Pattern from a seller on etsy. I wouldn't feel right sharing the pattern since it belongs to someone else. But I will tell you I made a few modifications:

• I left off the collar on the apples, because I didn't like it.
  
• I added a little leaf to most of the fruit (CO 3 st; Row1 knit; R2 purl; R3 K1f&b, K1, K1f&b (5 st); R4 purl; R5 knit; R6 purl; R7 K2tog, K1, K2tog; R8 purl; R9 Sl 1, K2tog, psso; weave in ends and attach to the cozy).
  
• I knit an extra 5 rows before casting off to make the pear.
  
• I knit the same cozy pattern in seed stitch for the orange.

I'm still playing with it and will probably go back and make the cozies bigger (especially the orange -- man, the oranges I found at the market today were bigger than the grapefruit!) and change the construction. If I do, I figure at that point I will have gotten far enough away from the original that I'll feel safe posting the new pattern here.

Of course, I also needed a banana for my collection, and since I couldn't find a pattern for a banana cozy, I made one up! Go ahead and download my Banana Cozy Pattern and make your own. And don't worry, there's plenty of time to get it done before school starts again!

Asparagus and Watercress

There are refreshing signs of spring in my latest lunch box: two beautiful vegetables from my first trip to the local Farmer's Market.

It was exciting to be back at the market after a long, cold winter, and I was especially thrilled to find bags of fresh, green watercress there for the first time ever. Raw watercress greens are much, much too bitter for my taste, like trying to eat paint chips. But stir-fried in a touch of toasted sesame oil and drizzled with miso dressing and almonds? Heaven and a half! I found this luscious recipe at watercress.com (click on recipes, then on "Stir fried Watercress with Ginger and Almonds in Miso Dressing").

Next to the cup of watercress is lightly steamed asparagus, another springtime favorite from the market.

The triangle of rice underneath is a musubi (aka onigiri, see Vegan Lunch Boxfor the recipe). The rice is topped with a sprinkle of nori komi furikake (a seasoned mixture of nori flakes and sesame seeds).

Tucked alongside are bright cherry tomatoes, lightly steamed cauliflower, and edamame skewers. I packed it all in my "Let's Do Lunch" bag and I was ready to go.

Go where, you ask? To work! That's right, I finally made good and got a real job. I'm still homeschooling James during the day, but on evenings and weekends I work at a little shop that sells smoothies (the real kind, made with fruit and 100% juice, not powdered sugar gunk). So of course I filled out my little lunch with one of my favorite smoothies: 1 cup grape juice, 2/3 cup frozen blueberries, 1/3 cup frozen pineapple, and a scoop of ice.

Verdict: It was all delicious!

P.S. Not only am I working at a job, I'm also working on an entire series of posts for this summer, starting next week. So stay tuned!

I Love Obento!

Oh, yes I do! I just received word today that I Love Obento! is finally open for business.

The store features bento boxes (Japanese lunch boxes) and the little lunchtime accessories that you see in many of my own lunch box creations: plastic picks to skewer bites of fruit or vegetables, paper dividers and cups, tiny sauce bottles, rice molds, and more.

It's sometimes hard for natural, healthy foods to compete in an age of dinosaur-shaped chicken nuggets and neon-colored pudding tubes, so lunch boxes and accessories like these are a great way to turn a healthy lunch into a special, fun treat for your kids (or yourself!)

Even more astonishing, the store actually has copies of the original edition of Vegan Lunch Box for sale. I think these may be the last remaining brand new copies in existence. A few used copies have been selling for an ungodly amount on amazon, but if you want an original, brand new edition at a reasonable price hurry over to I Love Obento!

Let's Do Lunch!

Happy New Year, Lunch Box Fans! Will you be eating Vegan Hoppin' John tomorrow, for good luck in the new year? I hope so!

Well, look what Santa brought me: my very own Borsa Bella Bag (sitting in front of the beautiful white roses my husband brought me for Christmas. Take that, Santa.)

These adorable handcrafted bags are made in America by the sister of a good friend of mine. When I saw the name of this bag -- "Let's Do Lunch" -- I knew I had to feature it on my blog. The bag has a quilted interior with inside pockets to hold utensils, napkins, and an ice pack, with a magnetic clasp at the top to keep the bag closed. It's a nice way to keep all your lunch containers and utensils together in one place.

Here's the vegan momma lunch I put together to go inside my chic new bag: a thermos filled with Dr. Fuhrman's Famous Soup alongside a rectangular stainless steel lunch box filled with stir-fried carrots and arame (a type of seaweed), two brown rice flowers, and a sweet Clementine mandarin for dessert.

Verdict: I am absolutely in love with arame and carrots, stir-fried together with a touch of dark sesame oil and a sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds. If you have never considered eating sea vegetables, let me tell you that seaweed is simply bursting with good-for-you minerals like calcium, iron, zinc and iodine. Not only that, it also tastes amazing! Arame is a nice one to start with, as it has a mild, almost sweet taste that is easy to enjoy. Try it in a stir-fry like this one, or cooked, chilled, and sprinkled on top of a vinegar-based potato salad. Yum!

Thank you, Borsa Bella!

Sunny Wholegrain Sushi

Here's one of my lunches for a change, photographed in a colorful Melamine 3-Layer Tiffin from Pearl River. I actually bought the lunch box as a gift for a friend who collects melamine (shh, don't tell!) but couldn't resist posing a lunch in it before passing it on.

On the upper right is a big serving of Asian Salad made with baby lettuces, cucumber, edamame, carrot, and daikon.

On the upper left are some Sunny Wholegrain Sushi cones, filled with healthy whole grains, avocado slices, and sunflower sprouts. I shaped the cones using a sushi cone mold from BentoTV.

Above the cones are a pig-shaped container of homemade Ponzu Sauce for the sushi, a kiwi container of Orange Dressing for the salad, and some Japanese Spinach from Vegan Lunch Box. This recipe from my aunt is the ideal way to prepare cooked spinach for a lunch box; the spinach is barely blanched and all the liquid is squeezed out, leaving the spinach chewy and flavorful, and excellent cold.

For dessert are two mandarin orange flowers with kiwi fruit centers.

Verdict: In an appalling act of mealtime injustice, my husband ate both of my mandarin flowers when I wasn't looking, and had to face my righteous, mandarin-deprived wrath. 5 stars.

More of Mabel

Linda from Mabel's Labels contacted me after reading my comment below on creating a label for veg*ans based on their Allergy Labels:

"Mabel is thinking we might be able to modify the Allergy Alert Label. Why don't you give me the text you'd like to see on a vegan label and we'll see if we can make a prototype."

How about it? Does anyone have some wording they would like to suggest? Would there be a demand in the veg*an community for a label like this for our children? Would you buy them?

Some of you have criticized my comment that the "I don't eat" list should be modifiable, because individuals have different ideas about what veganism or vegetarianism means to them. For example, some vegans would add white sugar to their list, others would not, and the same is true for honey. More controversially, I know scores of "vegans" and "vegetarians" who eat eggs, fish, chicken, etc. I'm not saying this is good or bad, I'm just saying it's true in my experience.

I understand that there is one set, proper definition, but in practice each family is different. I think allowing people to design their own "don't eat" list would be nice. Also, some parents might wish to add other items like "food coloring" or "wheat" to the list if their son or daughter is sensitive.

Perhaps leaving off the "I am a x" and just writing "Please don't feed me:" would be the best way to go.

More thoughts for Linda?

Mabel's Labels

So far in his school career, shmoo has misplaced four lunch containers, two container lids, several cloth napkins, and at least a dozen spoons (I've restocked the spoon drawer twice!)

So when Linda from Mabel's Labels offered to send some labels for shmoo, I was delighted. Now, as you can see, all shmoo's containers have his name and a cute little cat on them. Shmoo even got to pick out the color scheme and picture himself. And now when he forgets his lunch things they will at least have a bit better chance of making their way back to him.

My big question about the labels was how well they hold up to repeated washing. This picture was taken after lunch, when the containers had been washed with warm soapy water and air dried. The labels showed absolutely no sign of wear. I asked Linda about durability and received this response: "I personally have labels that have been on for over 2 years - the life expectancy of our labels is LONG!"

I love the labels, but here's what I really wanted to share, especially for those of you dealing with food allergies: Mabel's also sells Allergy Labels. How cool is that? You can detail what your child is allergic to and put it on everything they will eat and drink from during the day.

Hmm, I wonder if you could even change the wording from "I am allergic to:" to "I am vegan, I don't eat:"? Just a thought.

Thanks, Linda!

PUL Wrap

Vegan Lunch Box reader Lilia saw my recent post on Wrap-N-Mats and wrote in with these pictures and comments:

I saw your post about the Wrap- N-Mats and your dislike of the plastic smell. I found a solution and thought you might want to share with your readers. I made my own cloth diapers for my dd who is now 2 1/2 and potty trained. I have tons of PUL left over. This is polyurethane laminate coated fabric. After I read your post last night, I decided to wrap my sandwich in it. I made the sandwich last night, refrigerated it overnight and carried it in my insulated lunch bag. My sandwich was nice and soft at lunchtime. It didn't get stiff. I will be making more of these now for my family and my friends.

To get an idea about what the fabric looks like you can go to Diaper Shop. It's fairly soft considering it's coated, especially if the material that was coated is a knit. A little more stiff if it's a woven, but still folds up more like a thick napkin than plastic. I bought lots of "diapercuts" from Diaper Shop. You can get a nice variety of fabric choices this way, without having to buy a full yard. They run about $3 a cut. and could probably get 4 out of one 20x20 cut. Much more affordable than the Wrap-N-Mats.

As you can see from Lilia's pictures, making a PUL wrap looks easy, with no layers of fabric and plastic to sew together. And the fabric selection is great, with both fun prints and plain solids. Thanks, Lilia!

Wrap-N-Mat and Celebration Roast

Here's another new lunch toy! I came across Wrap-N-Mats a few months ago and was interested in trying one out. Wrap-N-Mats are a reusable plastic bag alternative that fold around a sandwich and close with velcro. The PEVA or PVC lining keeps the sandwich fresh, then at lunchtime the mat unfolds into a placemat. Nifty!

After we got over the fact that the brand new mat smelled like a stinky shower curtain, we decided to wipe it down and stick a sandwich in it.

I filled two slices of sprouted barley bread with Vegenaise, ketchup, lettuce, spinach, and cold slices of Celebration Roast. I bought the roast recently on a good friend's recommendation, and oh, I'm so glad I did! Even the meat-eater among us agreed that the roast was some of the best-tasting veggie meat we've had. Tasty hot or cold, Field and Celebration Roast are made from wheat gluten, pea flour, and lentils -- no soy, so they're a great veggie meat for those with soy allergies. The Celebration Roast includes a stuffing made from butternut squash, apples, mushrooms, and carrots -- more sneaky vegetables for the shmoo.

I know the whole point of the Wrap-N-Mat is to reduce waste, so it's ironic that the other treat I scored for the shmoo this week was an Applesauce Fruit Squeezie.That's right, shmoo can finally squeeze goo out of a plastic tube just like his friends! I packed the tube-o-mush alongside a fresh orange and some dairy-free Fig Newmans.

Here's the mat all folded and ready to go. Since we're on the subject of bags, I packed shmoo's fig bars in another plastic bag alternative: Natural Waxed Paper Bags. I like to fold the bag and use a hole punch to make two holes through the fold, then tie the bag shut with raffia or twine. (I'm sure I got that idea from Martha...)

Verdict: The Wrap-N-Mat worked nicely, but I must say I still prefer packing lunch in a lunch box. There's something so satisfying about how everything fits together inside a box, and since I tend to pack more fruit and vegetable salads, wet foods, noodles, rice, etc., a lunch box suits my style. But if you are a sandwich-a-day person, a Wrap-N-Mat would sure beat throw-away baggies. Shmoo was utterly delighted with his applesauce tube and wants to know if he can have one in his lunch every week from now on. 4 stars.